


What Your Mama Gave You

by VirtusFortitudoEtSapientia



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Boy Kisses, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Dorky behaviour, Innuendo, James Dean style, M/M, performance bartending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22142380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirtusFortitudoEtSapientia/pseuds/VirtusFortitudoEtSapientia
Summary: Levi, one of two 'dancing bartenders', is keen to impress a regular patron. He doesn't seem to realize that he really doesn't have to try that hard.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Levi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	What Your Mama Gave You

**Author's Note:**

> I am back with another dorky, slightly OOC Rivarmin get-together fic and I really hope you all had a wonderful holiday! 
> 
> Enjoy!

What Your Mama Gave You

_'No more living in those shadows_  
_You and me, we know how that goes_  
_‘Cause once you see it, oh_  
_You’ll never, never be the same_  
_Little bit of light is turning_  
_Bottle up but keep on shining_  
_You can prove there’s more to you_  
_You cannot be afraid'_

* * *

Armin had a habit of sitting on the tallest bar stool beside the bar for these performances, watching with an ardent – and frankly, _adorable_ \- fascination. For a while Levi had thought it was for Eren, as the other man would often throw the blonde a roguish grin halfway through and Armin would break into an embarrassed smile of his own, but then Eren had had to stay home sick for a few nights. Hanji had taken his place with her usual dramatic flair for a couple, Erwin for the rest, and yet the kid was _still there_. 

Still watching with those bright eyes and rosy cheeks and Levi felt his jealousy abate a little. 

Perhaps he was there for the performances themselves, then, but Eren mentioned that he’d tried to get Armin to watch him at home (knowing they lived together did nothing for the green-eyed monster that had taken residence in his chest) and apparently he’d refused point-blank. 

In the end, Levi had given up on trying to work him out and instead, outright asked Eren. 

“Why does he watch here every night, then? Doesn’t it get boring?” 

Eren had just smirked. “Yeah, if it’s the dance you’re watching.” 

“So if he’s not watching the performance, what _is_ he watching?” 

Eren shook his head. “I _know_ you’re not _that_ dumb.” 

Hanji had just patted him on the head with a condescending sigh. Erwin had raised an eyebrow and, with that _infuriating_ look in his eye, said, “Why don’t you just ask him?” 

Even Mikasa was no help. He asked her, waited a full minute for the answer, and in the end all she did was a slow blink and pinch the bridge of her nose. When she walked away, he thought he heard the word _obtuse_ muttered like a curse, and that was just like her, it really was. 

So, he watched. Experimented a little. For the next few nights, he noted that _yes_. The little blonde almost never took his eyes off him. Went pinker the more he flexed his forearms between each twirl and toss, and the day he decided to wear a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled right up, he couldn’t get more than one-word answers out of him. 

And tonight, he had a plan. And it was either going to go spectacularly right or spectacularly wrong, but he was pretty much certain Armin really did reciprocate the way he felt; it was the logistics of what he wanted to do that might leave someone with a black eye or bloody nose. 

* * *

Armin was in his usual place by the time the performance of the dancing bartenders began. The show on stage shut down, the lights moved around the room, the music changed, and he and Eren began the act. A quick toss to exchange decanters, the slide of bottles across the bar. An underarm throw here, a perfect catch there, a lemon bounced off a bicep, a forearm, a hip to a hand. Levi had dressed for the occasion, his shirt as tight as it could be without being indecent (Hanji had still cat-called him from the floor when he walked in, though). His hair was lacking its normal neat comb; he’d left it loose and just a little messy the way he usually did when he was looking to get some attention, and his jeans were bordering on too-tight, his boots with enough of a heel that he’d match Armin’s height. (Plus a tiny bit of eyeliner, though he’d deny it if anyone asked.) 

He’d said hi to Armin as he came in and the kid had stammered his own response, cheeks pinker than ever, and Levi _knew_. 

Jackpot. 

He took advantage of the looks his mother had given him tonight and every now and again sent glances Armin’s way, delighting in the way the kid was getting more and more flustered as the dance went on. A look from under his lashes, a flick of his hair, a perfectly-timed flex. 

And then the killer, one he’d spent a mortifying amount of time perfecting as a teenager with James Dean plastered around the edges of his battered mirror; he wouldn’t admit that even under torture, but it was about to serve him well. 

A twist of his lips from under his fringe, tilted to the side – _that_ bad-boy smirk, followed by tipping his head up to wink at the blonde. 

It widened when he just caught Armin’s whimper on the edge of his hearing and caught the kid shoving his hands between his legs with bright red cheeks. His knees rose until his feet were propped on the highest bar of the seat, and he looked _adorable._

“Cute.” He muttered, almost absently, leaning over to hand a girl her tequila and catching the shot glass Eren slid his way. She fluttered her lashes at him and he snorted. 

“Sorry, honey. You’re missing one key requirement.” 

“What’s that?” She didn’t sound insulted. Indeed, her grin only grew when he motioned to Armin. 

“You’re not him.” 

“Eh!?” Armin squeaked behind him, and he caught the decanter Eren threw – in the same, smooth movement, he spun around the bar, grabbed one of Armin’s ankles and tugged him into him. 

Hips and lips connected at once (and _oh_ ) even as he shook the decanter rapidly right beside Armin’s ear. A moment later, he released him and spun back to continue the performance. 

Armin slipped to the floor, giggling almost hysterically with his face beet-red. 

Eren just stood, dumbfounded, jaw unhinged. 

Embarrassed, Levi grabbed a lime and bounced it off the space right between the man’s eyes. 

“Focus, dumbass.” 

“Holy shit, dude. I think you broke him!” 

Still, Eren picked the dance back up even as around them, people were cheering loudly. Levi shook his head. 

“He’ll get over it. Then I’ll break him in an _entirely_ different way.” 

The giggles pitched briefly and he snorted. 

“Oh my God, I do _not_ want to hear about you fucking my best friend, Levi.” 

“Who said anything about _me_ fucking _him_?” 

Armin choked and practically dived for the back door, scrambling to get it open. Levi fumbled the next catch and rolled his eyes as Eren swore, but they were near the end of the performance and within the next minute it was over with every patron holding a drink and cheering loud. 

They took their bows, the stage lights came back on and Ymir began her sultry song above the audience. Everyone wandered away after dropping generous tips into the open jar, leaving the bar open for the newcomers. 

When Eren saw the wishful glance Levi threw at the door Armin had stumbled out of, he chuckled and whipped him with the cloth. 

“Go. I can manage for the next ten minutes. Fifteen if I get extra tips.” 

“Fuck you.” But he left anyway, stepping out into the alley behind the club. As the door shut behind him, the music muted to little more than a faint bass-tone and he took a deep breath, assimilating to what counted as silence to those in his line of work. 

“ _Holy shit holy shit holy shit_ _-“_

Armin. 

He found him sitting on the floor behind a pile of cardboard boxes that Hanji should have gotten rid of that morning, hands shoved between his legs and head tipped back against the siding, cheeks still bright pink. 

“Too much?” Levi asked, leaning one shoulder against the wall, and Armin damn near wet himself, if the way he jolted was any indication. 

“You should be illegal.” He huffed back, pouting. “You’ve got no business looking like _that_ and then k-kissing me like _that_ and how am I supposed to react? I’ve got little to _no_ experience and you’re gorgeous and I spent all this time thinking you would never be interested in me and now apparently you are but I don’t know if that’s just because you want an easy one-night stand or if you actually want a relationship and why did you have to tell Eren that about who would be on top?” 

It took Levi a minute to sort through Armin’s sulky ramblings and once he had, he relaxed a little. 

“Alright. Well, how about this? I’ve had my eye on you for a long time and only recently realised that maybe it wasn’t as unrequited as I thought. I don’t care about experience and I certainly don’t care for one-night stands any more. Hanji lives in the past – I haven’t done that since college. All the guys you’ve seen me with have been relationships. However brief and…badly thought out.” His lip curled at the thought of his last one, a three week affair with a man he’d quickly found out was married. “Also, winding Eren up is fun. Have you tried it?” 

Armin was smiling again, at least, but he didn’t say anything, so Levi blew out a hard breath before gathering his courage.

“How about this? I finish at eleven, I’ll take you to dinner, and we’ll go from there. Sound like a plan?”

“Alright.” And _oh_ , who was devastating now, with that sideways glance and coy smile dimpling light pink cheeks?

“Will you come back in? Eren’ll steal my tips if we don’t.” He held out his hand to pull Armin up and the blonde accepted, the smile never leaving his face. But Levi tugged a little harder than necessary and ended up nose to nose with the kid, quickly grabbing at his hips before Armin could step back and watched in delight as he tried in vain to keep his eyes off Levi’s own lips. He decided to try his luck.

“I think I might need a little sugar kick to get me through the rest of the night, though.”

“Sugar kick?” He looked thoroughly confused. His hands finally found rest on Levi’s shoulders after flailing for a moment, and he blinked at him. _Cute_.

“Mm, I think maybe…yeah, a kiss should do it.” He mocked a decisive tone and Armin huffed good-naturedly.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“One kiss, gorgeous.”

So Armin leant in, and Levi leant in, eyes fluttering closed when he felt hot breath on his lips until –

A soft, extremely brief pressure on his cheek. He opened his eyes and frowned as Armin laughed and tried to dart away, with a cheeky, “You didn’t specify where!”

Levi was fast, though, and he caught his hand before he could get too far, tugging him back in one smooth movement to connect their lips properly and _oh._ Oh, was this _ever_ what he’d been waiting for.

The taste of peach, from whatever fruity drink Eren had plied him with this time; smooth lips from an excessive chap-stick habit and a quiet, shaky moan – actually, he couldn’t be sure that hadn’t come from his own mouth.

When he pulled away, Armin looked a little dazed and _boy_ was freshly-kissed a good look on him. He couldn’t resist.

“Mm. One more.”

“Uh huh?”

This one a little deeper, a little rougher and a touch more enthusiastic.

“Just one more, I swear.”

Tongues coming into play, another moan, this one louder and definitely Armin- 

“One more should do it.”

Hands gripping at his waist – when had they gotten under his shirt? The muscles of his shoulders felt so _good_ under his hands –

“Again, last one, honest-”

He was against the cold stone wall and this time there was no letting up; something in Armin had snapped and he shoved a leg between his thighs and positioned himself so that they both had something for that _exquisite_ burst of pleasure when kissing became making out became a light frotting and _would_ have become heavy petting if the door beside them hadn’t burst open in that moment.

They jumped apart at the noise, Armin tugging his shirt down to cover his embarrassment quickly while Levi just glared at the intruder uncaring of his own…situation.

“We said fifteen minutes.” Eren shrugged, obviously trying for nonchalance but missing by miles. “Not the whole damn shift. Get laid on your own time.”

Well, that fixed it. He glanced down with a forlorn sigh at his once-again decent-for-public waistband and shook his head. “Fine. I’m coming.”

“Not on the clock, you’re not.”

Both Armin and Levi turned powerful glares at Eren who choked on his laugh and shot back inside. When the door swung shut, they turned back to each other.

“Pick somewhere to eat. Anywhere you like, my treat.” He pressed one last, lingering kiss to Armin’s swollen, bright red lips and smiling, pulled back. “We can pick up where we left off after dinner.”

Armin just nodded, hair mussed, eyes bright and _beaming_.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Go back to work, Marlon Brando.”

Levi rolled his eyes but with one last smirk, did as he was told.

He pretended not to hear Armin cheering to himself over the music right before the door closed.

* * *

_'And the world becomes a fantasy_  
_And you’re more than you could ever be_  
_‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open_  
_And we know we can’t go back again_  
_To the world that we were living in_  
_‘Cause we’re dreaming with our eyes wide open_  
_So come alive'_

**Author's Note:**

> I do not, in any way, profit from the story and that all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> I also do not own or profit from the song used: 'Come Alive' from 'The Greatest Showman'.


End file.
